1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a steering assist apparatus and method for vehicle arranged to apply an appropriate steering assist torque, in order to assist driving along a driving lane.
2. Background Art
The steering assist apparatus for a vehicle so as to assist driving of the vehicle along a driving lane has disclosed (e.g., JP A 2001-10518). This assist apparatus first acquires an image of a lane on which the host vehicle is running with a CCD camera or the like. Boundary lines to zone the driving lane are detected by image recognition process from the acquired image to acquire driving lane information which the host vehicle must be running. A steering torque necessary for steering to maintain the driving along the lane is determined based on the acquired driving lane information, and an appropriate steering assist torque is applied so as to assist driver's steering.